Yogi Adityanath Bans AC, Saffron Towel, Sofa For His Field Trips

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had faced criticism when VIP arrangements were made when he visited a soldier's family in May. The soldier's family said the whole visit left them feeling humiliated.

Special arrangements were made for Yogi Adityanath when he met the family of a jawan killed in May.

Lucknow: Yogi Adityanath's visits will no longer mean an advance team of ACs, saffron towels and sofas for his comfort. The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister has ordered his officials to put an end to the "show-off", warning of disciplinary action.

"We are used to sitting on the floor...The Chief Minister deserves respect only if people of the state feel respected," he had said last month, but that instruction was apparently lost on his administration when he visited soldiers' families in Deoria and Gorakhpur recently.

In a new order, Yogi Adityanath's office has said that he is "extremely upset" at extravagant arrangements like a red carpet, "towels of a certain colour" and special sofas.

"This should not be repeated in future. There should be no show-off and no inconvenience to people," said the Chief Minister's office today, in its order to administrative and police chiefs and other top officials.

Last Friday, when he visited the family of a policeman killed in Kashmir, a red carpet was laid out all the way to the house and white curtains were put up to block the view of the neighbourhood. Saffron curtains, coolers, an exhaust fan and a sofa were also installed.

Yogi Adityanath was reportedly annoyed by the fuss when he arrived and handed over a cheque of Rs 6 lakh to the soldier's family.

The Chief Minister had faced criticism in May when similar VIP arrangements were made for his visit to a soldier's home. The family said the visit left them feeling humiliated.

Just before the saffron-robed monk showed up, their home acquired an AC, coolers and sofas besides saffron covers and towels. The "frills" vanished the moment Yogi Adityanath left.

Attacked by the opposition, Yogi Adityanath's aides insisted that the priest-politician believes in austerity and had even rejected a brand new SUV, choosing to continue with cars used by his predecessor Akhilesh Yadav.